Fiji government lambasted over Russian arms shipment

Transcript

The Fiji government's been lambasted in parliament for secrecy surrounding the arrival of military equipment from Russia.

Container loads of arms and other military hardware arrived in Suva by sea last month.

Our reporter Sally Round has been following the story and spoke with Susie Ferguson.

SALLY ROUND: Details have only slowly emerged since the consignment arrived on the docks in Suva nearly four weeks ago. There were 20 to 30 containers of gear said to contain small arms, ammunition, military trucks and training equipment, also mobile mechanical workshops to be used in disasters, and there was one report of a helicopter but that has not been confirmed. Now all this gear is understood to be in the form of aid to Fiji which is the result of a cooperation deal between the two countries signed in 2013. Yesterday there were reports that 20 Russian soldiers had flown in, they were quickly ushered through diplomatic channels and they're understood to be weapons experts to help with the transfer of the equipment.  

SUSIE FERGUSON: And what's the equipment for?

SR: Both the Fiji and Russian governments say it is for Fiji's UN peacekeepers who are operating in volatile areas like the Golan Heights. Now Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto, who's the military chief in Fiji, says the peacekeepers arms are outdated. And Russian military experts have been speculating that the Fijians are getting some of the latest Russian weaponry including the expert version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle which uses NATO-standard ammunition. A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson says they've been supplied at the official request of Fiji and we know there is going to be an official ceremony this month to hand over the weapons and more may be revealed then.

SF: People in Fiji, are they concerned about a beefed up military?

SR: Well the concern is mainly around the secrecy of the delivery with the opposition saying the government only explained the consignment when exposed. Opponents of the government say the weapons were smuggled into the country with a private security firm involved although the authorities say they were checked by customs and police. There have also been concerns expressed that the equipment could be used for crowd control locally given the history of military coups in Fiji. The parliamentary opposition says it should have gone through parliament first and therefore it was illegal, But the Defence Minister Timoci Natuva says the deal was signed with the Russians in 2013 and there was no necessity for it to be announced publicly. Here he is speaking in parliament yesterday.

TIMOCI NATUVA: "Shifting arms and ammunition across the world, it goes through a safety process. You don't have to go around telling people we are providing ammunition for Fiji."